


Judith

by sweetopheliac



Category: Far Cry (Video Games), Far Cry 5
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Cults, Dead Dove: Do Not Eat, Death, Gen, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Religious Content, Religious Imagery & Symbolism, Revenge, Violence, pre-game
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-14
Updated: 2018-04-25
Packaged: 2019-04-22 15:48:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,834
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14312037
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sweetopheliac/pseuds/sweetopheliac
Summary: ❝Observe their arrogance, send your fury on their heads, give the strength I have in mind to this widow's hand. Break their pride by a woman's hand. Please, please, God of my father, Master of heaven and earth, Creator of the waters, King of your whole creation, hear my prayer.❞Thus Judith called on God.





	1. Prologue - de fideli { With Faithfulness }

             They seemed to appear out of nowhere like a small ant hill. They being Project at Eden's Gate, a religious group (the term group used lightly) ran by a man called Joseph Seed. No one seemed to take them seriously at first. Not even her. But soon that ant hill began to grow. Stories of people going missing started spreading, and she believed they were just that --- stories. That is until people she knew started vanishing. Friends, neighbors and even her own fiance. To lose so much began to hurt her heart. The loss of her beloved was the straw that broke the camel's back. It was mind boggling  how easily and quickly the group gained traction. Slowly but surely they started to gain more land.  
  
           The more their influence grew, the more she prayed. She prayed for strength. She prayed for healing. Most importantly she prayed for guidance. Something needed to be done. It seemed like no one else was going to do anything.  
  
    One Sunday she felt compelled to attend one of their so called revivals. Perhaps she had hopes of seeing those she had lost. That surely was one reason. The other being pure curiosity. She sits as far in the back as possible. Green eyes observe her surroundings and every person in the crowd. It's a diverse group of people. Sadly, none of which she recognize. At last services begin. The man that steps on stage is not quite what she expected from a preacher. He looks young, close to her age or a tad older. His hair is impeccably styled. As he speaks of just saying yes --- _Yes to confession, Yes to atonement_ \--- he makes rather eccentric gestures. It's then she swears she sees tattoos covering his hands and knuckles. His speech comes to an end. She follows along with the hymn that is sung, attention focusing in and out. What brings her back out of her daze is the excited murmurs of 'Father!' and clapping. Gaze turns back to the podium. The minute she lays eyes on this newcomer her blood runs cold while goosebumps formed on her skin. It became quite obvious who this man was: Joseph Seed.  
  
            The words that spill from his lips makes her sick. He talks of God, preaches of his plan and the fall of humanity. Yet it all seems twisted, poisoned. His approach to the gospel is not what she's use to. In essence though, there's no way to truly describe the feeling him and his sermon give her.  
  
            The minute it's over she doesn't hesitate to leave. She tries her best to be discreet in hopes of not drawing any attention to herself. The last thing she needs is to be on their radar. When she arrives home she grabs her Bible and starts flipping through it in search of something. She's not sure what though yet. As fingers nimbly turn the light pages she whispers prayers. Motions come to a halt when she sees the title of the book she's haphazardly stumbled upon. Judith. It's a story she's skimmed through maybe once. She skims it again now. It seems like coincidence at first, however; the more she reads the more it seems like a sign.  
  
             The rest of the day is spent reading through various psalms and proverbs. Night time comes followed by her nightly prayers.  
  
                 ❝O' Lord, give me guidance. Help me find the path that I need to walk. Give me a sign of what should be done. Do I turn the other cheek? Do I take action? Please tell me. Whatever choice is made, give my heart solace.❞  
  
                 She ends up having one of the most peaceful sleeps in weeks. When she awakes she has a revelation of what she must do.  
  
                  A week passes and when Sunday arrives again she attends another Eden's Gate revivals. This time she sticks around afterwards. With resolve in her steps she makes her towards the so-called _Father_. A meek expression paints her features as she very calmly and softly tells him about joining their group.  
  
                    A smile tugs at his lips. ❝And what is your name, my child?❞ he asks, hands resting gently on her shoulders.  
  
                    Her hands are folded in front her while she shyly averts her gaze. She's silent but just a second. When she gives him a reply, she makes sure to look him in the eye. ❝My name is Judith.❞


	2. ab hinc { From Here On }

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thus Judith begins her Holy Crusade down the rabbit hole.

                     Typically she enjoys going for walks through the forest. It was something she and her fiance had done often. In this moment though it feels like she's a lamb being lead to slaughter. The silence is thick and only adds to the tension. She ponders what someone would say if they knew the plan she had concocted and now put in motion. Stupid. Risky. Poisonous. That's the words that come to mind. She knew it was unwise to take on such a task. This was no game. No one would come to save her if trouble was to befall her. This was something she had to do. This was her mission, her **Holy Crusade**. With God by her side, she'd slay the evil that had taken hold of her homeland.  
  
                     Eventually the group comes to a halt at the side of a river. The so blessed Father stays by the shoreline with a book in hand while his brother wades out into the water. She learns his name is John, and ironically he's earned the title of John the Baptist. Perhaps then Salome will make an appearance at some point? Stray thoughts are pushed aside as one of the brothers begins to speak.  
  
                     ❝The time has come, my children, to be cleansed. From there comes atonement and confession.❞ Joseph says. His voice is gentle yet so so powerful. ❝I am your father and you are my children. When the time comes, we shall all walk through Eden's Gates.❞ Even behind those outlandish shades, Judith can still clearly see the intense gaze he sets upon them all. Arms are held out dramatically, as if he's ready to embrace them all. It wouldn't surprise her if he did. For silver-tongued snake, he sure seemed touchy-feely.    
                       ❝Now let us begin. Who shall go first?❞  
  
                       _Not I_ , she thinks to herself. Going first would show eagerness. Yet going last would show reluctance. Either one of those would be bound to mark her as a person of interest. No, instead she lets two people go ahead of her. It's quite obvious that this is a baptism. What else would she have expected? Joseph reads what she can only deduct as scriptures from his book as John proceeds to ceremoniously dunk each person under. The time they stay under is a bit longer than a normal baptism. That's worrying. What if she drowns? She supposes that's a more peaceful alternative. Yet it'd be disappointing for her journey to end so soon.  
  
                      Petite fingers are wrapped around the gold cross that hangs from her neck while she watches the scene unfold before her. As another person stumbles out of the water, the Father turns to look back at his small, new flock. ❝Who shall be next?❞  
  
                      Before someone else can volunteer Judith takes a step forward. He gives her a small smile, motioning her forward. Carefully she maneuvers over the rocks lining the bank. He offers her his hand to help her down to which she accepts. He continues his read as she wallows through the water. John says nothing as he takes a hold on her and dunks her under water.  
  
                      It brings back the memory of when she was baptized as a child. That day had been filled with such tranquility, such unspoken promise. This was nothing like that. Panic sets in the longer she's under. She resists the urge to grab hold of his hands. That would only show fear. She's determined to keep her composure; show no fear.  
  
                      At last she finally is pulled back to the surface. Gasps escape past shivering lips. Lungs greedily suck up as much air as possible. She's not been released from John's grasp yet however.  
  
                       ❝In the name of the Father, you have been cleansed.❞ It's only after the words roll off his tongue does he let her go. His piercing blue eyes meets her green ones, never straying until she finally breaks eye contact to move back towards land. She feels like a drowned rat. Drenched hair and soggy clothes cling to her frame. Joseph stops her in her tracks before she can make it back to her spot. Whatever little distance there was between them, he closes it. With his free hand he lays it upon her cheek and draws her in, pressing his forehead to hers. His eyes close and so do hers.  
  
                     ❝Welcome home, my child.❞ he murmurs.  
  
                   A chill runs down her spine. She's not sure how long they stay like that. A few seconds is her guess. But it felt like eternity. Something about that  gesture had felt so calming. To think such a thing would bring her solace made her stomach churn. There's only one thing now that could truly put her heart at ease. 

                     ❝Who shall be next?❞ Joseph asks. And so the cycle continues on. One by one they're cleansed and given a welcome.  
  
                     From here on out, she is now a member of Project at Eden's Gate. There is no going back, no changing her mind and no changing the fate she's set in motion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here is chapter 2! I'm starting to get a much better and more fleshed out idea of where I want this story to go. I already have an ending in mind. I've started adding the translations for each chapter name instead of just leaving it as plain Latin. I'm trying to get use to writing the dialogue of the Seeds so please forgive me if it's a little off. Thank you for taking time to read my story and I hope you enjoy it.


	3. ego te absolvo  { I absolve you }

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the help of John Seed, Judith realizes her sin and it will stick with her forever.

                It's all a blur as they're herded into vans. No one dares speak and the only sound as they travel is hymns playing over th radio. She notices the guy next to her is fidgeting more than any normal person should. What's put a bee into his bonnet? No one else seems to be paying attention to it. Hell no one seems to be paying attention to anything.  
  
    She's not sure how long they've traveled but at some point she must have fallen asleep. She's shaken awake  and told to get a move on it by a rather impatient person. When they emerge from the vans, the sun has  already began to set, painting the sky in vibrant hues or yellow and orange. It'd be a beautiful sight in any other situation. This is suppose to be the next step in what could be considered their initiation or induction.  
  
        _❝Confession and atonement come first. Then you will find your place amongst us, your new family.❞_ is what Joseph had said after their baptisms had been complete.  
  
                Simple confessions didn't sound too hard. Sit in a room with John, talk about sins, receive reprimands... **easy**. Or that's what she thought.  
  
                John stands before them, arms out and a smile on his face. It's a much different tone than down at the river. Perhaps it's because now he's unsupervised, free to do whatever he pleased. He begins to ramble on some spiel about pain and sin and being freed from all of the above. Quite frankly she's tuning most of it out. What catches her attention are the men that flank him; specifically the guns they're carrying. Out of all the odd things she's expected to see, weapons were not one of them.  Every so often she catches something he says, but really and truthfully it seems like he just talks to hear himself speak. Honestly, how long of a speech could he have prepared?  
  
                    ❝I can't do this...❞ Judith suddenly hears. The voice is just barely above a whisper. Out of the corner of her eye she notices the guy earlier from the van --- the fidgety one. He repeats the mantra several times to himself. He looks pale with a sheen of sweat beginning to form on his face. His breathing is a bit irregular. There's no doubt he's going into panic mode. ❝I can't do this!❞ he says again. This time though it's louder, almost as if he's yelling it out.  
  
                   This causes John to stop, brows raised and a certain twinkle in his eye is now present. She reads it as anger or maybe even interest. Before anyone can do anything, the guy turns tail and starts running off into the distant wilderness. Poor bastard doesn't get far. A shot rings out. The man let's out a pained scream as he crumples to the ground. A gasp escapes past her lips and a her hands fly up to cover her mouth. Fortunately or unfortunately for him it's a nonfatal hit to his right leg.  
  
                  Wide eyes turn their gaze to John. He's full out smirking with pistol in hand.  ❝I believe we have our first volunteer,❞ he laughs. He gives a quick signal for one of his men to grab the runaway. ❝Unless of course someone else want's to go first?❞  
  
                                    _ **No one dares speak up.**_  
  
      
                     ❝Well I suppose we should get on with it then. Are you all ready to break the chains of sin and rise to your true potential? To prepare to walk through the Gates of Eden? All it takes is for you to simply say 'Yes'!❞ The interruption doesn't seem to have dampened his mood. That smug look of his only seems to double as his captive audience gives a quiet chorus of 'Yes.' Some sound confident in their certainty while others seem to waver. It matters naught to him.  
  
                        A few seconds after that the world goes dark. Death. Death is the first thing that comes to Judith's mind. It doesn't make sense for them to be dead. Then again nothing with this extremist group has to make sense. Surely though if she was dead there would be something more. Something more than the smell of dank musk, the sound of whistling and the feel of wood beneath her. Her vision is blurred at first when she comes too. The light that shines above her is blood red. She watches a figure move around, setting up for God only knows what. Slowly she takes in her surroundings. None of the other newly baptized are in the room around her. Dark silhouettes hang from the ceiling. She has an idea of what they are. Besides that, she takes notice of the chandelier that she swears is made of deer antlers.  
  
                       ❝Ah, you're awake. Good.❞ John says, snapping her out of her daze. Whatever he has in his hand is set down. He pulls up a rolling chair right in front of her own. She watches as he makes himself comfortable. She still feels out of it and it takes him snapping his fingers in front of her face a few times before she's able to really focus in. ❝Now then, let's begin. Tell me your name.❞  
  
       Her name? What is her name? ❝Judith.❞ Judith? No that's not it. That's just her persona. Her real name is ---  
  
            ❝That's an uncommon name. A little bit too old fashioned.❞  
  
       ❝My parents were uncommon and old fashioned people.❞ she quips back. He either didn't like her tone, her answer or both because she sees a brief crack in his facade. Nevertheless he seems to laugh it off. At least until one of his inked up hands comes to rest around her throat. He's leaning so close to her. She can see the excitement light up his features. In the contrasting red light he looks like the Devil incarnate.  
  
                     ❝Let me make this clear. You will confess all your sins to me no matter how petty. I don't care how long it takes. You will tell me everything. And if you don't? I'm sure I can find some way to motivate you.❞ His grip tightens ever-so-slightly. She goes to reach up to pull his hand off of her, yet she can't. She tugs and pulls until she realizes that her wrists are restrained. A wave of panic washes over her. It's truly the most sobering moment of this whole experience. This is proof that all of this is real and that she's made quite possibly the stupidest mistake of her life. Her expression must have easily gave away all that she was feeling, for he quietly shushes her as if it's suppose to be comforting. That invokes the opposite effect. Tears prick at the corners of her eyes.  
  
                     ❝So tell me, dear Judith, will you confess your sins to me? Will you allow me to absolve you?❞ he asks in the most gentle voice. That scares her just as much as his actions.  
  
                      There's momentary pause as she just stares at him, wide eyed like a doe in headlights. He clears his throat and raises a brow --- gestures she takes as a sign he's getting impatient. ❝Yes,❞ she murmurs out at first. ❝Yes, yes. Yes! I'll tell you everything.❞ It's all she can do. Sure, she wants to play the role of some brave hero but that would be giving herself too much credit. She is no hero. Whatever Holy Crusade she thinks she's on is really just a suicide mission. Arrogant bastard can't keep the smug smirk off his face when he hears his favorite word, even if spoken more out of distress than anything.  
  
                       Judith makes good on her word though. She tells him just about everything. She tells him about how when she was younger she felt envious of how some people seemed to  have an endless pit of friends while hers all stopped talking to her after high school. She speaks of her wrath towards others that dared pass judgement on her fiance for his past mistakes --- how they'd speak in a shaming manner while not bothering to look beyond that at what a wonderful person he truly was. Each little transgression falls from her lips. He simply sits there listening and watching her. Every so often he'll give a nod of his head or steeple his fingers in thought.  
  
         She makes it an appoint to mention how those no longer apply. She's gotten older, wiser and more apathetic to life and things that happen in it. That was suppose to come off as a joke, Really though it held some truth. It leads to her rambling about how all her life she's just been swimming down the same river, only following the expectations of others and having no real thought about her life. Except for in college. There's talk of how she started out in a somewhat more prestigious field of study that while she thought was interesting, it wasn't something she really wanted to do. It was her beloved that supported and convinced her to seek out her passion: photography. It was something she wasn't going to pursue due to lack of a metaphorical backbone. When she told her family about her decision their response was to simply call her lazy for not choosing a real career. That was just the beginning. When she and her fiance decided to move out to hope county in order to pursue a simpler, quieter life needless to say there was little support. The lecture she received consisted of her being called an unmotivated bum chasing after some hippy-dippy dream; that she'd never be able to anything accomplish anything. The worse part being? Even then she hadn't stuck up for herself or her dreams.  
  
                     Whether or not any of that makes sense in terms of sinning, she's not sure. It worries her though the longer the silence draws on with him staring at her like a wolf after a sheep. Eventually he breaks the silence. ❝I see now. I know what your sin is.❞ He stands from his seat, shoving the chair the side haphazardly. He walks back to what only one could describe as his work bench. The item he picks up is obscured from her view. He walks back over to her, cuts the bindings that held her to the chair and grabs a handful of her long, dark brown hair. ❝When it comes to absolution, sometimes one must experience pain in order to really be free from sin.❞  
  
                     He doesn't give her a chance to ask what he means. Instead he throws her face down onto the ground. She tries to get up but he forces her down. The young woman squirms beneath him, trying to muster up the strength to fight back. That doesn't happen. ❝You see, you are a person who is so unwilling to act,❞  
he states. He uses a hand to hold her down as he uses the knife in his other hand to slice through the fabric of her shirt, exposing her back. ❝You are unwilling to change things in your life. And when you do try it's a half-hearted effort. You have no backbone. You're complacent and easily discouraged. Careless even.❞  
  
                   She can feel tears rapidly flowing down her cheeks as she hangs onto every word he says. It hurts how accurately he's pegged her. What hurts more is the feeling of a blade slicing into her skin.  
  
                   ❝Don't wiggle. I know it's painful. But that's how it is. We must feel pain in order to move forward. I am doing this to help you and you will thank me.❞ John's hand is surprisingly steady as he carves into her flesh. All Judith can do is sob and scream in pain. The cool air only serves to cause a stinging sensation in her mutilated body. It's a contrast to the warm, wet liquid drip down her back. ❝Your sin is so very obvious. It's none other than **SLOTH**.❞ And so the word is marked along her spine forever in red, jagged letters as a reminder of what a filthy sinner she is.  
  
                   ❝One final question. Do you swear to put your faith in the Father? To trust in his word?❞ The inquiry comes out in a much more softer tone that she would have expected. She just lays there, crying her eyes out in agony and sorrow. She suddenly feels so tired, so distant. It's all too much. Some how she manages to whisper out a very weak 'Yes...' Even without looking at him, Judith can tell he's absolutely ecstatic with his victory.  
  
                    ❝Good. I now absolve you of your sin. You are cleansed. You are a new person. Welcome to Eden's gate.❞ John doesn't hesitate to release her from his grasp, and stands up. He leaves her laying on the ground suffering.  
  
                    It's too much. She feels so tired. Maybe if she just closes her eyes for a second. She feels the prick of a needle.  No longer can she stay awake. Her body is too exhausted and so is her mind. John says something else to her, though it's drowned out, like water in her ears. It's then that she blacks out. Part of her hopes she'll wake up to all this being nothing more than a nightmare. That's just wishful thinking. Unrealistic. Careless. If nothing else, the substance he's injected into her veins helps soothe her misery, even if it's only temporary.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter up! I'm trying to make them a little longer. I hope you enjoy this one.  
> Anyways, I want to say thank you to all the people that continue to read and support  
> my writing. It absolutely means the world to me!

**Author's Note:**

> This was all based off an idea that just seemed to snowball out of control. I'm a real sucker for religious allegories and symbolism. I'm a little nervous posting this so please be a wee bit gentle. I wanted to create something that was a bit more unique. Whether I achieved that or not is up in the air. I hope that my story's intriguing if nothing else. Updates may be slow due to me still working on finishing the game, reading absolution and just life in general. I'm tempted to make some art to go along with it.


End file.
